Pokemon Divine Legacy Book 9: Sacrifice
by Maximus Prime 802
Summary: As the Trainers continue their search for the Celestial Stones, Team Phantom gets ever closer to their ultimate goal, the resurrection of the Renegade Pokemon and the success of his plan. As the two forces begin to collide, war begins and Red soon realizes that there is only one thing he can sacrifice if he wants Dawn to be restored.
1. Prologue

A week had passed, since Cynthia and Professor Carolina were escorted to Team Genetic's headquarters for questioning. Every day since then they would do the same thing, Team Genetic agents would escort them from their hotel suite to their headquarters where the government group's eleven year old leader, Director Hayden would ask her more questions about what happened during the God War.

Recently, Hayden had been asking them mostly about Giratina. He was curious as to how Giratina could pass between the worlds, his anatomy and his connection to the Griseous Orb. Cynthia began to grow increasingly concerned about why he was asking so much about the real world's greatest nightmare. Her fear was that Team Genetic was going to try to create a weapon based on Giratina's power and abilities, or worse they would try to clone him.

Today Cynthia was talking about Arceus. Hayden wanted to know if the king of the gods had any true weakness'. Cynthia did not want to answer him, but Professor Carolina trusted Team Genetic. They were a division of their peaceful and just government enforcement. Even if they appeared menacing, then they should never judge a book by its cover.

"Arceus has only one weakness" Carolina explained, "It's called silver water. A highly viscous material made from a substance that seems to drain him of all his strength. It was so difficult to create that most alchemists in the ancient world would go mad trying."

"Is that so?" Hayden asked, almost menacingly, "Are you sure that is Arceus' only weakness?"

Before Carolina could give an answer to Team Genetic's small leader, Cynthia stood up from her seat. Frustration was clear on her face, frustration from days of not being told why she is explaining all this to Team Genetic.

"We're done here." Cynthia declared, "Until you tell us what you need all this information for."

There was a moment of silence, not a word said, or sound made. Carolina had never seen her granddaughter act out like this. Hayden' silence was of his contemplation as to whether he should reveal his secrets to her or not. Finally the silence was broken when Team Genetic's leader reached a verdict.

"World conquest" Hayden answered.

Immediately after saying that, before Cynthia or Carolina could react, four Team Genetic agents walked in with Agent Johnson. The regular agents pulled Cynthia and her grandmother out of their seats, put their hands behind their backs and slapped handcuffs on them.

"What's happening?" Cynthia demanded.

"You two are under federal arrest." Team Genetic's leader answered coldly.

"What is the meaning of this? you little brat!" Carolina demanded.

"How dare you call me a kindergarten munchkin!" Hayden shouted back in blind rage.

"I never said that!" Carolina shouted back. Agent Johnson knew that he had to act before this escalated further.

"Take them to the holding cells." Director Hayden's number two ordered the Agents.

The Agents grabbed a form hold on the two women from Celestic Town and began pulling them out of Hayden's office. Their shouts about being outraged and Team Genetic being a disgrace echoed down the halls until they eventually faded away. Once his leader's rage was soothed, Johnson turned to Hayden for another order.

"What do we do next, director?" Johnson asked.

"Begin researching silver water in the historical records, start looking in the Palace of Light." Hayden ordered, "And keep your eyes on Team Phantom."

Neera stood by a large window in her base of operations. She looked out over the mountains and forests that stretched into the horizon. It was a marvellous and beautiful site, that would be destroyed very soon. It was a pity to her, but necessary to end the reign of evil in this world that is being a creation of Arceus.

Her moment of psychotic thinking was stopped abruptly when she heard the voice of one her new commanders, Meowth, calling out to her.

"Hey boss!" Meowth shouted to her as he, Jessie and James walked up to her. James held a silver brief case tight in his right hand.

"We've got it!" Meowth shouted with joy.

"Show me" Neera silently demanded. James held the briefcase up and opened it. Inside the case was its sole item, a brown gauntlet with black patterning and a red jewel in the palm.

"The Red Chain" Neera whispered to herself.

"It will say that it was not easy looking for it" Before James could go into any more detail, Jessie covered his mouth very aggressively. Her hope was that her partner would not anger their leader and render his life forfeit.

"You performed adequately." Neera complimented. Jessie, James and Meowth accepted it. It was honest, more than Giovanni ever gave them.

Their leader simply took the glove out of the case and put it on her hand as she walked past them. Neera walked down the corridor before turning left, into another room and closing the doors behind her.

"Well that was abrupt" James commented.

"What's she doing in that room?" Jessie wondered out loud.

"I say we quit askin' and start doin'!" Meowth declared.

The trio walked over to her door, silently and stealthy like a Glameow. All three put their ears to the door, hoping to gain any kind of evidence of Neera's actions.

"Do you guys hear that?" James asked all three in a whisper.

"You mean the dead silence?" Jessie asked in response.

"Well that's all I hear." Meowth commented. As they continued to listen, they were unaware that they were being watched.

"Not the most stealthy are you three?" A young female voice asked. The trio turned to see Neera's second in command, Mitsumi standing at the turn in the halls.

"Instead of mocking us." Jessie began in an aggravated tone.

"You could be helping us." James ended in the same tone as Jessie.

Mitsumi was not sure they would believe her, but if they insisted on an answer then she would give it to them.

"She is talking to the Griseous Orb." Mitsumi answered.

"Talking to it?" Meowth repeated, quite curious, "Well that's a healthy amount of crazy."

"Not as much as you think it is." Mitsumi commented, "You see she talks to it, and it talks back."

The inside of Neera's room was black as a moonless night. Black drapes covered the windows and blocked out any sunlight from getting in. The only light in the room was that of the lit candles that surrounded an column in the centre of the room. Upon this altar, of ancient Greek architecture, stood the Griseous Orb.

Neera approached it slowly before kneeling to it. She lowered her head and held out her arms, as a show of welcoming its power. The forbidden relic began glowing red and the sound of rushing wind seemed to come from it.

"I await thy bidding, jewel of the outcast king." Neera said to the orb. To the amazement of anyone who did not know already, the Griseous Orb spoke back to her.

_"The Priestess whom slain my master has fled mine gaze"_ The Orb said in a voice that sounded like a seductive whisper.

"Fear not my master, I will assemble an armada under the command of my servant and they will find her." Neera assured.

_"No, I have a vital quest for you that must be completed first."_ The Griseous Orb responded.

"But my lord, is she not the one who killed Giratina?" Neera asked as she looked up at the orb, "Should we not enact revenge?"

A red aurora emerged from the Griseous Orb. Instead of slow mesmerizing dance that most auroras had, this one performed a violent and sickening twisting motion in a show of the Griseous Orb's power.

_"Remember whom thou serves!"_The orb shouted. Neera averted her eyes and bowed forward in a fearful show of obedience. The Griseous Orb then halted the aurora of darkness and called dissipated it.

_"Thou shall take me to the Turnback Cave"_ The Griseous Orb commanded. Before Neera could say anything, the red glow around the orb dissipated, signalling that it was done speaking.

"As you wish my master." Neera whispered to herself.


	2. Two tales

**May's Log entry 7:**

_Red and Ash's dad told us about the eight Celestial Stones which we could use to restore Dawn's mortal aura and help her get her voice back. But a new criminal gang named Team Phantom is beginning to stir and they want the stones as well. Unfortunately, the stones are hidden in the ruins of eight kingdoms in the Ransei Region, guarded by the spirits of their former kings and queens. Which is where I am now, battling the king of Ignis for the Celestial Stone of Mars._

May finished writing and returned her attention to the battle. The samurai warrior king Hideyoshi's single Infernape was a strong match for May's Pokémon. At first she sent Wartortle, as a Water type is Infernape's greatest weakness, but the primate Pokémon was too much for the small Pokémon and with a single Flamethrower, Wartortle was defeated.

The girl from the Hoenn region then decided to rely on speed to defeat Infernape and she sent out Skitty. Skitty was out racing Infernape's attack, but May knew that eventually the kitten Pokémon would have to stop running in order to attack.

"Okay Skitty, use Blizzard." May commanded.

The energetic pink Pokémon stopped running and faced the Infernape, ready to attack. It released a torrent of freezing cold wind and ice from its mouth which began to engulf the primate creature. It was clear that the intense cold was affecting the Infernape, but not as much as May hoped it would.

"Infernape, use Flare Blitz!" Hideyoshi commanded. The Infernape became surrounded by red and orange fire. It lunged into the air and charged at Skitty like a missile. As it flew forward, the fires turned blue right before it slammed into the kitten Pokémon and engulfing both of them in a giant explosion. Once the fire, dust and smoke settled, it revealed that Infernape was standing triumphantly over an unconscious Skitty.

"Your small feline was strong May" Hideyoshi complimented, "But you used an Ice type attack against my Fire Fighting warrior."

May didn't know what to do. She could only use one Pokémon, but she had no idea which. Blaziken was still exhausted from running a gauntlet of Team Phantom Grunts earlier, Beautifly and Glaceon were both types that were weak against a Fire type like Infernape. She had only one Pokémon left, it was her only hope.

"Go Munchlax!" May shouted as she sent out her gluttonous Pokémon.

"I don't understand your planning May" Hideyoshi confessed, "But I look forward to seeing what it is."

"Just you wait Hideyoshi." May warned somewhat joyfully, "It's going to be a big one."

"Then if that is that, then I will let you make the first move" Hideyoshi offered.

It was clear that Hideyoshi was having fun with this battle. He had more to gain from losing the battle and he hoped that May would win. Despite this, he was ready to give it his all.

As far as May could tell, out of all four of Munchlax's moves, there was only one that had any hope of winning her the battle. Solar Beam was a Grass type move which had little effect on a Fire type despite its power. Focus Punch did not have the energy to take down Infernape and Tackle was just too plain weak. May had only one choice.

"Munchlax, use Metronome!" May's greatest hope was for Munchlax to use a Water type, just not a worthless one like Splash. May was in for a surprise.

Munchlax's body began to glow golden. It put its two hands together and a golden orb formed in between them. The chubby Pokémon then threw the orb into the air, where it exploded into thousands of smaller orbs. They all targeted Infernape like missiles that locked onto it and struck it. Infernape was engulfed in a explosion of light and dust. May had seen this move many times during the God War. Arceus' most powerful move and the most powerful of all Pokémon moves.

"Munchlax, did you just use Judgment?" May asked in a very bewildered voice.

The explosion settled and revealed, to May and Hideyoshi's happiness, Infernape was unconscious, leaving Munchlax the winner.

"Good work Munchlax!" May congratulated as she ran forward and hugged her short stout Pokémon.

"I concede to you, May" Hideyoshi concluded, "The Celestial Stone of Mars is yours."

Before May could thank him, Hideyoshi and Infernape began to fade away like a phantom.

"Hideyoshi, what's happening?" May asked worried for her opponent.

"My soul was only bound to this world as long as the Celestial Stone remained in my possession." Hideyoshi explained, "Now that it has been passed to its new bearer, I am finally free to cross over to the Hall of Origins and become one with the universe. Thank you for freeing me of this curse."

"Your welcome" May responded as she bowed her head in respect.

"Your visions are an omen." Hideyoshi warned, "A darkness is coming, beware what your visions have to say, use the stone wisely."

"I will." May promised.

With May's oath of protection, Hideyoshi and his Infernape faded away into nothing. In front of May, a red spherical object, the size of a PokéBall began to form. Instinctively, she held her hands out to it. The object fully materialized into a stone that looked like the planet Mars. The Celestial Stone of Mars, was hers.

The sun was setting in the far east of the Ransei Region. Misty looked out over the hill she sat on and watched as the red sun began to descend into the orange sky. Darkness would soon engulf the region as night would rise. Too Misty, night was when Team Phantom could strike.

She needed a place to spend the night. The hills were too open, they could send hundreds of Grunts armed with Hydreigons after her. There was a town she passed through in her travels, but it was too far away. The night would be almost over by the time she got there.

From the forests below the hill, Misty could see something. She pulled out her binoculars from her bag and peered through them. A Pokémon was staring at them from the underbrush, it had the build of a strong and proud canine, its bore a long hexagonal crest on its forehead from which a main like the aurora borealis, and two streamer like tails. Misty knew what this Pokémon was, one of the three Legendary Beasts.

"A Suicune." Misty said to herself, her voice an astonished whisper.

There was something quite unique about this Suicune, to confirm her suspicions, she took another look through the binoculars. She was right. This Suicune did not have the light blue skin, turquoise crest and purple mane that its kind had. It had a sky blue body and crest, and its mane was as blue as the ocean. To Misty's shock and awe, this was a shiny Suicune.

The shiny Suicune began pulling its head back repeatedly. Misty was unsure as to why it was doing that, but she had a feeling that it wanted her to follow. Suicune then turned and departed into the forests.

"Suicune wait!" Misty called out to it.

Cerulean City's former Gym Leader departed from her perch and continued down into the forests the Legendary Beast fled into, with Togetic behind her. She had no reason not to trust this Pokémon. In the past, Suicune had been a very trustworthy Pokémon, helping herself and Ash multiple times in their travels. There was also evidence that Suicune aided humans during the Platinum Wars, making them a sworn enemy of the Antimon. She had every reason in the world to follow this Pokémon.

As they pushed into the forests, it became darker and denser. Through the branches, leaves and bushes, Misty could still see Suicune. Misty struggled to follow Suicune as she pushed through foliage, the dark and her won weak ankles and wrists. The injuries she sustained as a prisoner of Giratina still had not fully healed, this excursion was not helping. Suicune was walking slowly, constantly looking back to make sure Misty and Togetic did not fall behind.

Misty made one final push through the thick plants to find a small opening in the forests, with Suicune standing in the middle of it. There was a cool refreshing breeze through the air, the grass was soft was cotton and the trees made a protective barrier to keep her safe from Team Phantom. The clearing was small, but large enough that she would not have to enjoy this garden of Eden alone.

"Everyone come out!" Misty shouted as she took all the PokéBalls off her belt and released the Pokémon inside. All her Pokémon from little Corsola, to titanic Gyarados could sit comfortably in the clearing and enjoy the night.

Suicune sat next to the single tree in the clearing. The tree was quite big, ten feet in radius and fifty feet in the air. In this tree's trunk was a large open space. Misty crawled inside the opening and found it to be large enough for her and Togetic to sleep in.

"Thank you for leading us here Suicune." Misty said to the Legendary Pokémon as she stroked its muzzle. Suicune closed its eyes and arched its head forward as a show of trust.

Misty then decided to prepare her beddings for sleep. She opened her bag and began digging into it, looking for her sleeping bag and pajamas. Her rough digging was stopped when she began to feel a stinging pain in her wrists. She pulled back and grabbed her left wrist in pain. In such a quick movement, Misty tipped over her bag and much of its contents spilled out, including Ash's hat.

The Water Trainer took her lover's hat in her hands and held it up to her heart. She began to remember the valiant deeds Ash acted out to show his love for her. Travelling across oceans to profess his feelings to her, jumping into the Distortion World in a daring attempt to save her life. All these were examples of how much Ash loved her, while she did nothing to show her feelings for him.

"He loves me with all his heart" Misty said to herself, "Why is it so hard for me to say 'I love you'?"

Misty began to gently sing to herself, silently as not to arouse her sleepy Pokémon. In her heart, it was the only way she could relieve the stress she had inside.

_Out here in the setting of the sun,  
>Beneath the sky, and sun<br>We both know we've got something on our minds  
>We won't admit, but it's true<em>

_You look at me, I look away._

_I wanna tell you what I'm feeling,  
>But I don't know how to start<br>I wanna tell you, but now  
>I'm afraid that you might break my heart<br>Oh, why should anything so easy ever  
>Be so hard to do?<br>I wanna tell you what I'm feeling,  
>And to say that, I love you.<em>

_I practice all the things that I could say,  
>Line by line, every word<br>I tell myself today could be the day,  
>But every time, I lose my nerve<em>

_I look at you, you look away_

_I wanna tell you what I'm feeling,  
>But I don't know how to start.<br>I wanna tell you, but now  
>I'm afraid that you might break my heart<br>Oh, why should anything so easy ever  
>Be so hard to do?<br>I wanna tell you what I'm feeling,  
>And to say that, I love you.<em>

_Why? Why do you turn away?  
>It must be, you're afraid like me<br>I try, but I can't pretend that I  
>Don't feel for you the way I do<br>Can't you see?_

_I wanna tell you what I'm feeling,  
>But I don't know how to start<br>I wanna tell you, but now  
>I'm afraid that you might break my heart<br>Oh, why should anything so easy ever  
>Be so hard to do?<br>I wanna tell you what I'm feeling,  
>And to say that, I love you.<em>

_I wanna tell you what I'm feeling,  
>But I don't know how to start<br>I wanna tell you, but now  
>I'm afraid that you might break my heart<br>Oh, why should anything so easy ever  
>Be so hard to do?<br>I wanna tell you what I'm feeling,  
>And to say that, I love you.<em>

Misty's song unexpectedly ended with a deafening clap of thunder. She knew what would come next and hoped that none of her friends would be caught in the middle of it.


	3. The Cave on the coast

Dawn leapt out of the water throwing her arms out in joy. Water spread outward in all directions in small particles that glistened in the setting sun. Shining droplets slid down her smooth, swimsuit clad body, and reunited with the water. The young girl opened her yellow eyes and looked into the sunset, marvelling at its beauty. Although she could not speak, her mouth made the movements of speaking. Had she a voice, she would say;

_Thank you father, for creating a perfect oasis for me._

As she, Red and Silver were travelling along the Ransei Region's northern coast, they came across a small lagoon backed against the rock wall of the coast. The king of the Trainers decided that they should rest and spend the night at the lagoon.

The young Priestess was overcome by happiness, she was so close to getting her voice back, ending this nightmare and having her old life back. With their greatest enemy, and the enemy of all life no more, this quest would come to an easy end.

Red sat on the sand at the edge the water, watching Dawn and her Pokémon enjoy themselves in the water. It was pleasant for Red to see Dawn enjoying herself for the first time in a very long time. He wished he could go into the water and join her, but he had to be on alert should Team Phantom ambush them.

Silver stood behind Red, firm and strong like a soldier. His arms were crossed over his chest, but in an instant he could grab a PokéBall off his belt and send his most ruthless Pokémon into battle. He looked around impatiently, but he finally had enough. He held his tongue too long and now he had to speak his mind.

"We are wasting our time." Silver commented, "We should make our last push to Dragonair now and get the Celestial Stone."

"Dawn has been through a lot Silver." Red argued, "She needs time to rest herself."

Before Red could talk any further, he was hit in the face by a blast of water sending him flying back. The king of the Trainers looked up, expecting to see Piplup preparing to use Hydro Pump, what he saw instead was surprising and amazing.

Dawn elevated one of her hands, which was glowing yellow. As she did, a glowing serpent made of water slowly arose out of the lagoon. She began moving her hands and arms in a slow rhythmic movement, the water serpent began moving with it. With one strong whip of her hand towards Red, the water serpent lunged forward at the Pokémon Master.

This time, Red was prepared. Once the water serpent was close enough Red projected a blue barrier made of aura. The water serpent collided with the barrier and dispersed. The Pokédex Keeper was aware of his aura powers, but had no idea they were this strong. It was Dawn's power, however, that astounded him.

She had learned this gift while she was training with Uraiya in the past. Its purpose was to protect themselves, or the innocent. But in the wrong hands, it could be an incredibly dangerous weapon. Red was not afraid, he believed that none were more deserving of its power than Dawn.

"Telekinesis, impressive." Red complimented.

Within seconds, the skies had become black with clouds. Light came a few seconds later in a blinding flash, followed by a deafening clap of thunder. Rain began falling from the sky in great volume and at an alarming rate.

Dawn called her Pokémon back and frantically began running back to Red's side. The King of the Trainers grabbed a towel from off the beach and held it over his oldest friend's head. But the towel absorbed the rainwater like a sponge and it soon became useless. Red then took off his red shirt and put it over Dawn instead. With Silver, they began running down the coast.

"We need to find cover!" Silver warned the others.

"There isn't a forest or town for miles!" Red shouted over the deafening water hitting the ground.

The intense amount of rain created a curtain of water around the Trainers and their Pokémon, impairing any vision. Red could not use his aura 'Third Eye' to guide them. He was preoccupied with keeping Dawn dry as best he could. But where vision failed, scent would become vital.

Pika smelled something, something coming from the wall of stone along the coast. The electric Pokémon ran ahead of the others, following his nose until he found the source. There was a massive cave in the wall, carved by millions of years of erosion and left alone since the Platinum Wars. Pika began sending upward electric bolts to get the others to head towards him.

"I think Pika found something!" Red shouted to the others. Following the Thunder signals, the others came to the mouth of the cave. water descended from the top of its mouth like a waterfall, creating an almost wall.

With one powerful leap, Silver jumped through. Red, Dawn, Pika and Piplup followed him. The cave was cold and dark, easy for an ambush. Red put his hand on his chest, closed his eyes and called upon his aura 'Third Eye'. Through the dark and deep cave, Red could only find four auras other than himself, the aura of the four who just entered the cave.

"We're safe." Red assured.

"Well it's dark, but at least it's dry." Silver commented.

"I'll start a fire and get some dinner ready." Red decided.

As Red sat in the centre of the cave, getting Chars ready to start a fire, Dawn sat far in the back giving him some distance. Dawn sent out her Typhlosion and nuzzled up next to it while holding onto Piplup. While Red had finally gotten the fire going, he was joined by his rival turned ally.

"Don't you think you've done enough?" Silver asked.

"I haven't even started cooking yet." Red answered humorously.

"I mean with Dawn." Silver corrected. Red turned his gaze from the fire to face the son of his greatest enemy.

"She is my friend, I will do anything to help her see this through to the end." The king of the Trainers responded.

"As far as you can tell, there is only one way this ends for you" Silver pointed out, "And if there is even a chance that it will give Dawn safety, then you will let it happen."

"You weren't there Silver." Red informed, "You weren't there when she died in my arms. She was scared, she was cold as ice, I can't imagine the pain she was feeling. I swore to her that I would never let her go through that again, that I would give her back her voice. No matter how far I'd have to go or how long it would take."

Silver stopped and let Red's words sink in. Although he hated Red with every bone in his body, he did not want his journey to end by anyone's hand but his. He hoped that his enemy would live long enough to be destroyed in battle against him.

"Let me continue on for you." Silver offered, "You should go home."

"I'm a Sacred Knight." Red said more firmly, "I must devote my life to her protection."

"Red." Silver said more firm than Red, "You owe no one anything, you have sacrificed everything for everyone."

Red looked Silver in the eyes, he had only one thing he could say to his opponent. One thing that would show his resolve.

"No, not everything. Not yet."


	4. Cave of Trials

The middle of the night, the thunder and rain were still as strong as they were when the sun began to set. The cave had fallen into dead silence. After completing their dinner, Red, Silver, Dawn and their Pokémon went to sleep. Warmed by their Fire type Pokémon, they entered a very deep sleep. But in a deep sleep, they were vulnerable.

The ground outside the cave shook in a pattern like footsteps. Silhouetted against the lightning, stood the titanic and deadly Pokémon. One who was thought to be dead by Brock, Lyra and May. The creature had remained hidden during the god war, lost to exile. His name, Kyurem.

Though Kyurem had survived the battle at the Palace of Light, he had sustained severe injuries that had yet to heal. The heavy rain beating against his wounds weighed down on him, he needed to find a place to pass the night. To his luck, a cave sat before him, along the stretch of coast he stormed down. His refuge from the violent winds and rain had come at last. With mighty footsteps like earthquakes, Kyurem advanced towards the cave.

Inside the cave, Silver slept closest to the mouth. He volunteered to stand guard by the mouth, but his body was exhausted from the arduous trek he and his allies took to find the cave. His slumber was interrupted as the cold stone ground beneath him began to shake. At first it was little more than small vibrations, but with every shake, it became more and more violent.

Silver looked out into the mouth of the cave where he saw the dragon slowly stalking towards them. Judging by how it was moving Giovanni's son could tell that it did not know they were there, but would soon. A battle would soon ensue, and he had to be ready for it. As Silver reached for his Ursaring's PokéBall, he was stopped by a familiar voice.

"Kyurem" Red identified, "This is an enemy we can't face in a confined area."

Silver realized that his old nemesis was correct. In such a confined area, against such a powerful dragon, a battle would result in disastrous consequences.

"Then what do you propose?" Silver asked in an aggressive whisper.

"Gather your Pokémon and head to the back of the cave." Red answered.

Silver did as Red ordered and called his Pokémon back. Red tiptoed over to a sleeping Dawn and nudged her awake. Still sleepy, Dawn looked around the cave, when her eyes met the entrance to their cave, she saw Kyurem. Terrified to see her old nemesis still alive, she jumped back fully awake and accidently stepped on Piplup's fin.

Piplup screeched in pain as it grabbed its hurting fin. Dawn quickly threw her hands on the penguin Pokémon's beak silencing it. Kyurem's slow trudge stopped and he became alert suddenly to the cave in front of him. His gaze left the wet ground and pierced through the cave, searching for the source of the outcry.

All humans and Pokémon inside the cave fell silent and ceased moving. Terror filled eyes looked towards the mouth, pleading with the heavens that the dragon would not spring forward. Dawn could feel her heart pounding against her chest, her feet trembled and sweat cascaded down her forehead. Silence was their only hope of survival, their lives on the edge of a knife blade.

Then, as if fate proved most kind to them, Kyurem resumed his slow plod towards the mouth of the cave. However, his walk seemed to be all the more cautious. Unable to see anything in the cave, the dragon knew he could be walking towards a trap and decided it would be best to take precautions before settling for the night. With the peril temporarily over, the Trainers and their Pokémon resumed their silent departure to the cave's end.

Silver could not keep his eyes away from Kyurem. He could feel the power the dragon had within. Outmatched only by the ferocity and savagery the beast had. With all this maliciousness and hatred, Silver also sensed something else in Kyurem, suffering. This was not a creature that longed for causing fear and chaos like Giratina or Darkrai, this was a creature that longed for a purpose, to find a place where it belonged. In his desperation he turned to Giratina who turned him into a killing machine from which he held remorse for. As far as Silver could see, he and Kyurem were not that different.

Silver was so deep in thought that the world around him seemed to fade, and he lost track of his footing. On the cold wet rock, Silver's feet violently slipped and he unintentionally kicked a large rock behind him, towards the mouth of the cave. The stone tumbled and rolled onward, every movement it made echoed through the cave in deafening clattering sounds. Without thinking Pika jumped off Red's shoulder and began racing towards it.

"Pika! Come back!" Red whispered harshly to his Pokémon.

Pika ignored his Trainer and continued after the noisemaking rock before it finally stopped, at the mouth of the cave. And at the feet of the very dragon they were hiding from.

Kyurem's massive snout pushed through the cascading water barrier and smelled the rock. There was a scent on it that he was far too familiar with, a Pokémon he battled with not long ago. The dragon moved his entire head through the water and began looking around the cave. Pika crouched down and remained silent as to not alert their nemesis of his presence. The humans at the far end of the cave did the same as the little Pokémon.

Fortunately for the humans and their Pokémon, Kyurem's age old eyes were weak in the dark confides of the cave. The creature was relying on its sense of smell to find the cause of the shifting rock. His head moved left to right in a smooth movement like a crane. The sound of his exhale like a rumbling growl that shook the humans to their core. They were clueless of how the dragon would react to them, they freed him from the hold of Giratina, but they also made him look like a fool.

"Where are you?" Kyurem growled.

Finally Pika believed it to be safe to start backing away. As he did, he kept his gaze fixed on the beast towering above him. Unfortunately the rains did not let down and the wet rock beneath Pika's feet provided him no traction. Pika slipped and fell forward onto his chest, letting loose a shriek of surprise and pain as he fell.

The sound pierced Kyurem's ears and he turned his massive head in the direction of its origin. Now he knew there was something in the cave, now he was ready to attack. As his gaze continued to stay upon Pika's location, a blast of lightning illuminated the entire cave for several seconds, enough for Kyurem to see him.

The small Pikachu with a scar under its left eye was obviously familiar to the ice beast. It belonged to the Sacred Knight whom protected the daughter of Arceus. That means she is hear, in the cave! Kyurem pulled his eyes away from the Pokémon and instinctively looked towards the back of the cave. There she was, cowering in fear behind the Sacred Knight and some red haired human with a cold look in his eyes.

These were the humans who humiliated him a year ago in the Palace of Light. It need not matter that she was the child of God or the slayer of Giratina, she made a mockery of him before the armies of darkness and before so many Legendary Pokémon. She may have survived executing his former master, but now she was going to die. Kyurem let loose a deafening roar before charging towards the Priestess.

"Run!" Red shouted, "Everyone run!"

The Trainers began to run for the back of the cave. Red grabbed Dawn's hand and began to run as well, ensuring that she would keep up with him. Kyurem closed in on them, his every footstep shook the cave like the apocalypse. He snorted and growled as he chased after them, it became louder and louder, Kyurem was getting closer.

Dawn's mix of curiosity and terror got the better of her and she looked behind her. Ignoring her environment, she stumbled over a rise in the rocks and fell forward. Now Kyurem had his chance, he stopped and towered over Dawn.

"Dawn!" Red shouted as he turned around to rescue her. Silver grabbed onto Red's shirt around his shoulders and pulled him back.

"Red don't, he'll kill you!" Silver warned.

"She needs my help!" Red shouted back in his rage.

"She can protect herself!" Silver answered in just as loud a voice as Red.

Under normal circumstances, Dawn would use her powers to defend herself, but she was bound by the code of the Guardian Priestess' she could not use her powers to harm a Pokémon. To honor her dead sisters, she would stay true to the code set by Arceus.

Saliva dripped from Kyurem's maw as he stood over the helpless girl. Finally he would do what Giratina could never do, finally he would end the line of the daughters of God, finally he would reclaim his honor.

"You took my honor" Kyurem growled, "Now it will be reclaimed!"

As Kyurem thrust his open jaws towards the helpless girl, Dawn followed her instincts and looked away while holding her arms in front of her head. She expected to feel unparalleled agony as his serrated teeth sunk and sliced into her cold trembling flesh. A second passed, she felt nothing. Another second passed and still no pain, something was wrong. Dawn opened one eye and looked towards Kyurem. She saw something small and blue in his jaws as he began swinging his head around. She opened both eyes and looked straight towards Kyurem to see what it was. What she saw was horrifying.

The small blue thing in Kyurem's jaws was Piplup. At first glance, Dawn assumed that Kyurem was ripping the little Water type apart like a leopard seal to a baby penguin. Upon closer inspection, the Guardian Priestess could see that the Penguin Pokémon was actually holding the Boundary Pokémon's mouth open while firing Bubble Beam and Hydro Pump attacks down his throat. Dawn marvelled at her Pokémon's courage but was scared by its recklessness and wished it would get away from the dangerous Pokémon.

Kyurem successfully forced Piplup out of his mouth by firing a Dragon Breath attack. The orange and red beam of violent energy sent Piplup flying out of the dragon's paw and right into the rock wall. Kyurem hissed, showing his clear rage as he turned and stalked towards Piplup who lay on the ground, looking weakly towards Dawn, pleading that she would run.

"Since you wish to protect your princess so" Kyurem hissed, "You may die first."

Kyurem's right two fingered arm shadow energy emerged from it and took on the form of an even larger, three fingered claw. The dragon raised his hand and readied to strike Piplup down, only for something moving at incredible speed to strike his Shadow Claw hand and force him back. Kyurem turned around in time to see Pika charging at him, his head held low and he struck the dragon in the chest. Red jumped down and began helping Dawn back to her feet while commanding Pika in battle.

"Good job Pika, now use Iron Tail!" Red commanded

While still in the air, Pika called on its Iron Tail attack and began striking Kyurem repeatedly over the head. The sound of his tail against the armored head of the dragon echoed through the cave like swords of knights in single combat.

Silver admired Pika's nobility and Red's courage but knew that it was all for nothing. As soon as Kyurem saw an opening he would seize it and strike down his opponents to kill Dawn. Unless the dragon was faced with something he wasn't expecting.

Red grabbed Chars' PokéBall off his belt and prepared to send him out and Mega Evolve him for greater Type advantage against the ice dragon. His plan stopped when he saw Silver's Black Charizard fly past him, grab Pika and gently toss him towards Red. Red grabbed Pika and looked behind himself to see Silver running towards them with his Weavile and Kingdra.

"My Pokémon and I will hold this dragon at bay." Silver explained while standing next to Red, but not once glancing at him, "You get Dawn to safety, whatever you may here do not once look back."

Once Dawn had finished healing Piplup, she took the small Pokémon in her arms and ran to Red's side. Red gave Silver a simple nod before turning and running back towards the cave. As they ran they heard the sound of roars, shrieks and the crumbling of rocks behind them. Dawn could not help but look behind her and admire Silver for rising above the selfish monster she once knew him as to save her.

The Black Charizard bellowed at Kyurem in hopes of deterring the already wounded dragon from attacking. Kyurem simply roared back only twice as loudly. The dragon charged forward with two Shadow Claws at the ready.

"Weavile use Faint Attack!" Silver commanded.

Weavile jumped forward and struck Kyurem in the chest forcing the Pokémon back against a support column for the cave. Kyurem recovered quickly and roared back at Weavile for such a sneak attack.

Silver then noticed something that intrigued him. As soon as Kyurem struck the rock column the ceiling of the cave shook violently. The son of Giovanni realized that if the column was destroyed then the dragon could finally be bested. It was dangerous and suicidal, but even the strength of all his Pokémon could not best the Boundary Pokémon.

"Charizard use Hyper Beam on Kyurem! Kingdra, Hydro Pump!" Silver ordered his Pokémon.

Without a second's thought the Black Charizard unleashed a devastating beam of black and purple energy from its mouth towards Kyurem while Kingdra released a powerful, continuous stream of water from its mouth. Both attacks struck the ice dragon and sent him flying towards the rock column.

Upon hitting the column, it snapped like it were made of wood. The cave ceiling creaked loudly, alerting all inside of it. Large stones began to fall from the ceiling. At first only a few fell, then more and more and an alarming rate. The stones soon began to turn into large boulders that crashed against the ground creating small tremors as they did. The cave in had begun.

Silver called his Pokémon back and began to run towards his awaiting comrades who were safely far from the cave in. Dust rose from the ground like a toxic fog, visibility was nonexistent. The sound of the rock crashing to the ground prevented Silver from finding hearing the calls from Red.

"Silver! This way!" Red shouted, only for his voice to be muffled by the sound of the descending debris.

Red used his aura vision to find Silver, he wished that his rival had the same gifts as him at that moment. Through his aura vision Red could see Silver was coming in the right directions and by luck was dodging the falling debris. That luck had run out as five massive boulders fell from the ceiling and Silver was running directly towards where they were going to land.

"Silver! Stop!" Red pleaded, but once again his voice fell on deaf ears. A large amount of dust kicked up that impaired even Red's aura vision, just as the rocks descended onto Silver's location.

"Silver! No!" Red shouted in horror.

So caught up Red was in the events that unfolded before him that he failed to notice Dawn holding her hands towards the area he was looking in. As the dust settled it revealed that Silver was perfectly intact, flinching in belief that death was above him, and the five boulders, ten feet above him. Silver looked up and to his amazement realized what dawn was doing.

"You saved my life" Silver said in disbelief. The unwilling heir to Team Rocket could see that dawn could not hold the boulders for much longer and ran out from below them in time for Dawn to lose her grip and the boulders crashed to the ground.

"You have great power lady Berlitz." Silver complimented as he put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Don't scare me like that" Red warned, "You made me think that I actually like you."

Their moment of joy was cut short by an ear-splitting roar coming from the other side of the wall of rocks left behind by the cave in. Kyurem ripped himself free, now more battered and beaten than he was before. He was on the opposite side of the wall as his enemies and he knew it. He also knew that he no longer had the strength to fight them, if he tried, he would die. With a snort from his nostrils, Kyurem turned and stormed towards the open mouth of the cave.

Before returning to the still thundering and raining outside world, Kyurem turned and faced the cave. This would be forever known to himself as the place that he was defeated by three simple children. Now he knew that he had fallen to a new low. In his rage he let loose an ear-splitting roar that could be heard through half of the Ransei Region.


	5. Hayden

Director Hayden stood in his office awaiting his best agent to return with information revolving around Team Phantom. He took this time to think back on his own past with Team Genetic.

The boy proved to be a genius at a very young age, proving scientific theories that most deemed impossible and creating deadly weapons for catching Pokémon. This attracted the attention of the government who hoped to use his intellect in their classified unit called Team Genetic. At that time, Team Genetic was merely a computer and intelligence unit, not unlike NORAD.

While gathering information, Hayden saw many things in the Pokémon World. Including the wretchedness brought upon by Team Rocket, Team Aqua, Team Magma and Team Galactic. With the government not willing to do anything, the young genius decided that he had to take matters into his own hands.

One night, Neera approached him offering him the chance to change the world for the better, bring proper order, peace through tyranny. All she asked for in return was diplomatic immunity and the resources needed for her master plan. Hayden was most intrigued by her proposition and accepted if she would make him the leader of Team Genetic.

Several weeks later, Neera presented Hayden with what he needed. Evidence of the prior Team Genetic leader being involved in Team Rocket's experiments with cloning Mew DNA. Once this evidence was brought forward to the government, Team Genetic's leader was stripped of his rank and arrested, and Hayden was appointed the new leader.

Hayden's reminiscing stopped when Johnson stepped into his office. In his hand was a his brief case that he was opening at that moment.

"Sir, out Intel points to Team Phantom has begun excavating in the Turnback Cave." Johnson explained, "What are your orders?"

"Send a crew of miners to assist" Hayden ordered, "Whatever is inside that cave I know will prove to be helpful for Neera."

"Has she told you what her plan is yet?" Johnson asked, concerned over their 'allies'.

"Not yet" Hayden explained, "That's what makes her a better ally, she knows not to trust others."

"This dig could attract the attention of the Guardian Priestess." Johnson warned.

"Is Mitsumi monitoring the dig?" Hayden asked.

"No sir." Johnson responded.

"Then send the form changer to protect the site." Hayden ordered, "If the priestess is there, then one of the Sacred Knights will be there."

"What about the other Knight?" Johnson asked.

"I will deal with him myself" Hayden decided. He stood up from his desk and walked past his top agent. Before departing the room, the young leader of Team Genetic had one final command.

"You are in command until I return."


	6. Mitsumi

The clock hit 7 O'clock AM and the alarm was sounded. Brock was calmly stirred back into the land of the awake. The Pokémon doctor of Pewter City looked around his room and was reminded of where he was.

Brock had taken to a Pokémon Center the night before to rest himself and his weary Pokémon after their battle with Ginchiyo. After retrieving the Stone of Saturn, he rushed to the nearest Pokémon Center to heal his injured comrades and spend the night.

The formers Gym leader of Pewter City gathered his PokéBalls and tech into his bag and departed his room. As he walked past the counter, a familiar voice called out to him.

"Brock!" Nurse Joy called out to him, "I wanted to say thank you for your help with the Pokémon last night. I was completely overwhelmed."

Seeing Nurse Joy's beautiful face filled Brock with uncontrollable passion. Without a moment's hesitation he raced over to the front desk and took the young nurse's hands in his own.

"It was my pleasure Nurse Joy" Brock responded in his usual romantic voice, "For wherever there is a Pokémon in need I shall be there to lend my hand. And thus you may never need fret about being overcome again dear Nurse Joy, for just call me and I shall not hesitate to come to your aid."

Before Brock could carry on any further, Croagunk jumped out of its PokéBall and used Poison Jab. It struck Brock in the back and paralyzed him.

"Or you can just fax me" Brock croaked as Croagunk dragged him through the doors of the Pokémon Center. One deep inhale of fresh air and Brock was back on his feet.

Brock knew where he had to go, the docks for a ship leaving for Twinleaf Town. With any luck, the others would have their stones and they would be able to find Dawn's voice in no time.

As he began walking along the town boardwalk, Brock was lost in thought. He was thinking about his friends lives after they complete their quest. Of course he knows he will be a great Pokémon Doctor, but it was not his future he feared, more his friends'. After all is said and done, what reason would they have for staying together. Their different dreams pulled one another apart long ago, it would be bound to happen again.

"After this, I can't picture my future without the others." Brock said to himself.

Moments later, a Solar Beam attack comes from behind Brock and strikes the ground he is standing on, heaving it up in a violent explosion. Brock was sent flying through the air before he crashed on his side against the ground, mere inches from the water.

Brock turned his head in the direction that the blast came from and saw a Leafeon standing next to a beautiful girl his age with green hair and a cold look in her eyes. Her beauty got the better of Brock and he was stirred back into action.

"You know, there's more ways than that to get my attention" Brock joked as we walked towards her. The girl's Leafeon hunched forward and growled at the approaching human. The girl simply waved her hand reassuringly to the Grass type and the creature calmed down upon seeing its master's movement.

"But now that you have it, let's get to introductions." Brock held out his hand to the girl, hoping she would shake it, "Hi, I'm Brock who are you?"

The girl did not shake Brock's hand, instead she grabbed his wrist and twisted it. Brock grunted in pain as he fell to his knees in pain. The girl then kicked him in his chest and sent him flying back.

"The name's Mitsumi" The girl addressed as she adjusted her long grey gloves, "And I'm here for the Celestial Stone of Uranus."

Brock gripped his stomach in pain whilst staggering to return to his feet. He had heard of Mitsumi before, but only in urban myth. A young girl, the face of a goddess but the heart of a demon, bent on total destruction. It terrified him to be so close to such a horrendous legend. If the tales about him were true, then on this day, Brock would die.

No, that was not going to happen. He may be a Pokémon doctor, but he spent many years of his life being a Gym Leader and he was sure to keep up his fighting style.

"If you want the Stone you're going to have to rip it from my cold dead hands, go Crobat!" Brock shouted as he sent his Flying Pokémon out to fight.

"Doable." Mitsumi said as she simply waved her hand and her Leafeon jumped forward and used Leaf Blade.

The leaf like crest on top its head straightened out into the shape of a glowing green katana and it slashed Crobat in the chest. The purple bat Pokémon fell out of the sky and crashed to the ground, unconscious after one hit.

Brock was nervous about this, but this did not get the better of him. He decided to send out a Pokémon that would not be such a type weakness against Leafeon.

"Croagunk go!" Brock shouted as he sent out his Poison type Pokémon.

"Leafeon, use Leaf Blade." Mitsumi commanded calmly. Leafeon charged forward with his crest ready to attack, but Brock was ready.

Carefully, Brock calculated the speed the Leafeon was moving at, and based on his Croagunk's speed he estimated the best time to strike. After seconds of waiting, Leafeon was where Brock wanted it to be and commanded his Pokémon.

"Croagunk, use Poison Jab!"

Croagunk's glowing purple fist struck home right in Leafeon's chest. The Grass type Pokémon was sent flying back by the force. Sensing that the attack rendered her Pokémon poisoned, Mitsumi called Leafeon back.

"Go Dusknoir!" Mitsumi shouted sending out her Ghost Type Pokémon.

"Okay Croagunk use Poison Sting!" Brock commanded.

"Bide" Mitsumi calmly instructed.

Before Croagunk could fire the purple poisonous barbs from its mouth, Dusknoir was upon it. The large one eyed ghost swung its massive hands down on the small frog, pinning it to the ground. Each of Dusknoir's hands was as big as Croagunk's head and pressed down on the poisonous fighter as though a mountain was sitting on top of it. Croagunk was completely immobilized.

"Give me the Celestial Stone and Croagunk does not have to die." Mitsumi said with a curious smile on her face.

Brock looked at Mitsumi, there was something about her he found puzzling. Her cruel smile seemed almost forced and his eyes could have been playing tricks but he could have sworn that there was a tear escaping her left eye.

"Why is such a bloodthirsty Trainer worried about her enemy's Pokémon?" Brock asked in a both gentle and challenging voice. Mitsumi was clearly taken aback by this.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Mitsumi spat back.

"Croagunk is completely defenceless" Brock explained, "You could kill him if you want to."

"I don't need to justify myself to you!" Mitsumi shouted to her enemy. Brock began piecing together what these clues meant.

"Admit it, you used to have an insatiable appetite for violence." Brock began, "But now you've lost your taste for it haven't you?"

"LIES!" Mitsumi shouted back, "I was trained by Team Galactic to be the perfect killing weapon!"

"There's one problem with that" Brock responded, "You're not a weapon, you're a human."

"SHUT UP!" Mitsumi yelled back, "I am still the ultimate warrior and I'll show you!"

Mitsumi then turned her attention to her Pokémon, "Dusknoir, crush Croagunk's head!"

Brock was prepared for this and sent out another Pokémon to escape.

"Forretress use Self Destruct!" Brock shouted as he sent out his Bug Steel type.

Forretress began to glow until it became a bright white silhouette of itself. An explosion then erupted from Forretress' body and engulfed the battlefield in fire and smoke.

Once the smoke and fire dissipated, Mitsumi saw the world around her again. There was no sign of Brock, Croagunk or Forretress. All that remained of them was a blast crater in the centre of the battlefield and an unconscious Dusknoir.

Mitsumi could not believe what had just happened. Her prey had escaped from her in the worst possible way. She was not overpowered or outnumbered, she was beaten by her past. She let her emotions impair her judgment and lashed out in a violent fit out of terror. Failing because she lost focus, is the one form of failure that her Empress could not tolerate.

Overwhelmed by anger and fear, all that Mitsumi could do was fall to her knees and scream into the sky as loud as she could.


	7. Masmune

_Three of my Pokémon against one of his, I wish it was as easy as it sounded._ Misty thought as she continued her battle against Masamune for the Celestial Stone of Mercury.

The spirit of Avia's warlord was quite friendly when she first entered the ruins' temple. When the battle began, his Braviary fought so viciously that her Corsola was beaten after three moves. Three moves that hit the poor Water type so quickly that it didn't even feel the blow of the attack until a few seconds after they hit.

Now Misty had her Gyarados in the battle, hoping to combat speed for power. This would, however, not be the case.

"Okay Gyarados use Hydro Pump!" Misty instructed her Atrocious Pokémon.

Gyarados reared its head back and prepared to unleash a devastating torrent of water from its mouth, but Masamune was ready.

"Braviary use Sky Drop!" Masamune commanded back.

Braviary took the sky (an easy feat since there was no ceiling to the temple anymore) flying into the sun until the blinding glare left it invisible. Seconds later, it came soaring back down and slammed into the back of Gyarados' head forcing the titanic Pokémon to the ground and rendering it unconscious.

"You are indeed a courageous fighter, orange haired sea maiden, but Braviary and I shall seize victory today!" Masamune bragged.

Misty called her Gyarados back to its PokéBall, then began looking at the rest of her Pokémon. She only had Water Type Pokémon, so she could not win by type matching. Her best hope was to use a Pokémon that had excellent agility to dodge Braviary's speed. That Pokémon was right in front of her.

"Are you ready Togetic?" Misty asked.

The small Pokémon was flying around Misty during her entire fight, she was so caught up in the battle that she almost forgot about her adopted child. With Togetic's Metronome and Charm, Misty believed that the battle could finally tip in her favor.

"Okay Togetic get ready to..." Misty's battle cry was stopped when another Pokémon jumped out of its PokéBall by itself.

"Psyduck!" Misty shouted in anger and fear.

Psyduck looked up at Braviary with a glazed look in its eyes. This creature looked as much as a threat as a Diglett to a Tyrannitar. The moronic expression on its face lacked any kind of warrior skill or ferocity. It was a punching bag that could say its own name.

Ash's Staraptor was tasked by its Trainer with protecting Misty. As she did not have much experience recently in battles, Ash felt it necessary to give her some assistance, despite her protests that she could handle herself.

The predator Pokémon had seen the entire battle from a hole in the roof, waiting for the right moment to help. Upon seeing Misty send Psyduck out, Staraptor knew that the time was now to lend some assistance. With just a gentle nudge of its clawed foot, Staraptor pushed the rock through the hole and into the temple.

The rock hit Psyduck on the head and the impact echoed through the temple. The pain resonated through Psyduck's head in a repetitive almost heartbeat. After a few seconds of silent pain, the duck Pokémon's headache built to the point that it could feel psychic energy flowing through its body. Psyduck's eyes began to glow blue with power, a sign to Misty that the time was now.

"Great luck!" Misty proclaimed, "Now that your headache's strong enough Psyduck, your psychic power is stronger!"

"Sky Drop!" Masamune commanded his Braviary.

"Not so fast! Psyduck use Disable!" Misty commanded quicker.

Psyduck's eyes began to glow blue and rings of energy began to expand out of them. Braviary was suddenly paralyzed in mid air, it couldn't feel its wings anymore. The bird of prey loss its aerial advantage and fell to the ground. It lay on the ground, weakened from the mental attack and sudden impact with the ground. With a bold grin on her face, Misty held out her hand and commanded her Pokémon once again.

"Good work Psyduck! now use Psychic!"

The slow witted duck Pokémon's eyes began glowing blue once again. Braviary, still laying weak on the ground, became surrounded by a blue aura and with a wave of Psyduck's hand, was away. Tumbling through the air like a rag doll tossed by a stubborn child until it smacked into the stone wall at the far end of the cave. Braviary then fell to the ground, unable to fight.

"I humbly concede" Masamune declared, "The battle and the stone are yours, but eternal freedom is mine."

With that, Masamune and his Braviary faded like phantoms. Moments after they faded away, the Celestial Stone of Mercury materialized on the altar on the far end of the temple.

"Well that was easier than I thought." Misty commented. With that she took the stone off its altar and triumphantly departed the temple.

Upon stepping outside, she saw something flying overhead that made her curious, a Staraptor flying overhead.

"That's strange" Misty said to herself.

Normally Staraptors could be found in cliffs and canyons, but there was none of that for miles. Upon closer inspection, Misty was quick to identify the unique Pokémon, it was Ash's Staraptor.

As soon as Staraptor noticed that Misty had spotted it, it turned tail and flew towards its Trainer's location.

Feelings began to well up inside of Misty. Ones she had not felt towards Ash for many years, because of her feelings for him; anger. He promised her that he would not interfere and that he would trust her.

"He lied to me!" Misty shouted in rage. Togetic began hovering back in terror.

"He gave me his word and he double crossed me!" Misty continued to yell.

Outraged, Misty called her Psyduck back and began running in the path that Staraptor was flying in. Tears of rage filled her eyes and she charged through the forest with her eyes closed in anger.

_I swear to Arceus Ash Ketchum!_ Misty thought, _When I catch you, Giratina will seem like a Skitty compared to me!_


	8. Shingen

With another swift kick of the phantom Groudon's massive leg, Pikachu was sent flying through the air. The small electric Pokémon fell to the ground hard, and struggled to get back up.

"You can do this Pikachu!" Ash cheered with tension. This battle for the stone had already taken its toll on Charizard and Oshawott, now Pikachu could barely stand up. It was not proving to be in Ash's favor.

"Use Electro Ball!" Ash commanded. His hope was to use Electro Ball's effect of having damage equal to the enemy's weight to win the fight.

The sphere of pure electric energy generated on the end of Pikachu's tail and flung towards Groudon. Although as soon as it struck the titanic Pokémon, it dissipated and Groudon was unaffected.

"I forgot" Ash suddenly remembered, "Electric type attacks have no affect against Ground types."

"It's not just that boy!" Shingen boasted proudly, "Groudon is a spirit, when not attacking it weighs practically nothing."

Ash stood terrified at the opposite end of the battlefield. If none of Pikachu's powerful electric attacks did anything, and Iron Tail and Quick Attack were too weak, then what hope did he have to best his enemy.

"Well if you're not going to attack again" Shingen began, "Precipice Blades!"

Groudon roared into the air. As it bellowed, massive spikes of stone lunged out of the earth and tore through the temple. One spike struck Pikachu in the chest and sent it flying into another, sending the poor Pokémon cascading into several more spikes before it finally fell to the ground.

Pikachu was now in too much pain to even stand. It wanted to fight, it wanted to get up, to win the stone, to save Dawn. But the attacks by the already gigantic and powerful Pokémon left it too weak to fight. It seemed as though the battle was over, before it truly began.

"It would seem that I have won this battle" Shingen declared.

A shadow of sorrow and doubt fell over Ash. After everything he and Pikachu endured, all the monsters and forces of evil. Now, they had met their end like this, in a crumbling tomb against a forgotten ghost. Now the stone would never be his. Never before had any of his defeats been so painful as this one. Even if all the others get the Celestial Stones, Dawn would still never regain her voice, and it was his fault. But Ash refused to accept this, he clenched his fist and shouted out to Pikachu.

"You can get up Pikachu!"

The electric Pokémon and Shingen looked at Ash curiously. It was clear that he was defeated, so why did he persist on continuing the battle?

"Dawn is counting on us!" Ash continued, "She has faith that we can get the stone and I know we can! It's all on you Pikachu! After everything we've been done, whether facing Team Rocket or Giratina, this is not how we're going to lose! I know you can keep going Pikachu, because I believe in you! Because you're as much a brother to me as Red is!"

Inspired by Ash's words, Pikachu staggered back to its feet and growled at the phantom Groudon. Ash was right, there was so much counting on this battle, Pikachu could not let itself be defeated this easily. Dawn was counting on them.

"You have spirit boy" Shingen complimented, "But that won't save you."

"You don't know me that well" Ash boasted, "I'm a Sacred Knight and one of the ones who helped kill Giratina."

"Foolish boy!" Shingen shouted, "Not even Dialga and Palkia could defeat Giratina, how could you?"

"Let me show you" Ash said quietly before commanding his Pokémon, "Pikachu! use Quick Attack!"

Pikachu charged at Groudon, but something unexpected happened next. Instead of being surrounded by the usual white energy that increased its speed, yellow energy began to form around it. The energy began to grow and morph, taking on the shape of a much more demonic Pikachu and five times the size of the Pokémon around it. Pikachu then lunged at Groudon, striking the Pokémon with enough force that it created s shock wave sending Ash flying and kicked up an ocean of dust.

Ash waved his hand in front of his face as he coughed, hoping to move the dust away and see the outcome of the attack. When the dust settled, Groudon staggered forward and collapsed. Pikachu hopped out of the dust and leapt like a rabbit towards its Trainer's feet, with an expression on its face wondering if it did well.

Ash could not believe what he saw, Pikachu had learned a new attack and traded in Quick Attack. It could either be the weakest Pokémon attack, or the most powerful depending on the bond the Pokémon had with its Trainer.

"Pikachu" Ash started, "Did you just learn Return?"

Pikachu simply nodded in agreement and smiled at Ash in confirmation.

"Whatever that attack was, the battle is yours." Shingen complimented.

As Shingen faded away like the Spirits before him, the Celestial Stone of Saturn materialized on the pedestal behind him.

"You are indeed a powerful warrior, I can see how you could have defeated Giratina" Shingen complimented as he and Groudon faded away.

Ash walked over to the pedestal and slowly removed the stone. A part of him expected that the second he removed it, a booby trap would go off. Nothing happened, and the half brother of Red breathed a sigh of relief.

"Looks like we'll be finished in no time" Ash commented aloud, "Hang on daw, we'll get you back to normal in no time."

Suddenly, before he could leave the temple, Staraptor came bolting in and hid behind its Trainer. A booming sound echoed through the temple, a puddle of water on the floor (from one of Oshawott's attacks prior) began to ripple with each boom. They were getting louder and closer.

"ASH KETCHUM!" A familiar voice shouted from outside the temple.

A Gyarados then charged out from the nearby forests and into the temple. It reared its head into the air and shrieked as loud as it could. The Atrocious Pokémon then brought itself down to the ground to reveal its Trainer.

"Misty?" Ash asked in mild disbelief and worry.

There was clear rage in Misty's voice as she glared down at him not saying anything. Her arms were crossed against her chest as she continued her soul piercing gaze with a stiff upper lip.

"Do you know why I'm mad?" Misty asked in a hushed, but enraged voice. There was a pause before Ash answered her, feigning ignorance.

"So you don't know either?"

She jumped off Gyarados' head and stalked towards Ash. Gyarados began slithering back in fear. Even Pikachu and Staraptor began backing away from the two young humans. Misty grabbed Ash by his collar and with all her strength, she lifted him into the air.

"You promised me that you would let me get the stone by myself!" Misty shouted, "You gave me your word that you would not interfere and you lied!"

"Misty, I just was worried" Ash gagged, "Am I allowed to be worried about my girlfriend?"

"That still doesn't change the fact that you went behind my back!" Misty spat back, "If you're my boyfriend, then you're supposed to trust me."

"Well you always say that you're fine when you're not." Ash reasoned, "You talk a big game, and that gets you into trouble more times than you think."

"Is that so?" Misty said with emphasis and anger as she dropped Ash to the floor and turned away from him.

"Well then you don't have to worry about me talking a big game, because until Dawn gets her voice back, I won't say a word to you."

Ash struggled to comprehend what had just happened. A few minutes ago, he was feeling great as he had recovered one of the eight Celestial Stones and Pikachu had learned a move that cemented its bond with Ash. For a moment, he was at the top of the world and then he came crashing back down.

The boy tried to think of something to say to Misty to help get her to understand, but the worlds would not come to his mind. Misty herself was not proud by this decision. In light of the past eight books, the last thing she wanted to do was drive a wedge between herself and her boyfriend. She hoped that by the time they had reunited, she could rescind Ash's punishment and talk to him again. However, She remembered something she wanted to give her 'boyfriend'.

"That reminds me, I wanted to give this back to you" Misty said as she reached into her backpack and pulled out a smaller bag.

Ash opened the bag and found something so horrifying that he dropped it to the ground. He pulled out his hat that he gave to her before they parted ways. The only difference was that it was torn perfectly in two. Judging by the strained fabric on opposing sides, it was fair to say that Misty tore it with her bare hands.

"You're welcome" Misty said as she called Gyarados back and began walking away.

Poor Ash, today he learned the first rule about relationships. Hell hath no fury like that of a women's scorn.


	9. It's Alive!

The boat pulled into Sandgem Town and May was the first to depart. Although the plan was for them to meet in Ransei before returning to the Sinnoh Region, she had an alternate agenda. She was going to set up a full party for Dawn at her place to commemorate the end of their harrowing journey. She was even going to go so far as to ask Dawn to summon Dialga, Palkia and Arceus as guests. Hopefully, this would lift Dawn's spirits especially when they would get her voice back the next day.

Dawn meant the world to May, which was one of the reasons she wanted to help Red at every chance she got. His determination to go the extra mile meant she could do the same for her friend. May had many friends from her journey, many were rivals turned friend, but Dawn was something special. Originally drawn to her by her similar wish to become a great Coordinator, she was compelled to the young Priestess by her joyous nature and glowing smile. Every time May visited the Sinnoh Region, she and Dawn spent as much time as they could together, shopping, dining and staying up late swapping stories of their journeys.

Now that she was without her voice, May was more compelled than ever to help her friend and make sure that her sacrifice was not for nothing.

Her pondering was stopped when she heard edgy voices coming from the other side of the docks.

"The Griseous Orb is already at the Turnback Cave and so is Neera." The voice said.

Mentioning the forbidden relic of Giratina peaked May's curiosity and worry. Silently, she crept along the docks, following the voice. Once she had a visual of her enemies, she ducked behind oil barrels. and peaked her eyes over to see what she was facing.

It was a black hooded man, like the one she and Red faced in the Ilex Forest some time ago. He seemed to be conversing with a gang of bikers who bore the same emblem as the hooded man, the mark of Team Phantom. As they were speaking, other Grunts were loading wooden crates into an all black truck.

May could not make out quite what they were talking about, but she heard Giratina and the Griseous Orb enough times to know that whatever they were after, was bound for trouble.

A part of her wanted to follow them to see what they were up to and try to stop them. What held her back was her knowledge that she could not grapple with all of Team Phantom by herself. This was most certainly one of those moments where she called her friends for assistance.

_Go with them_

A voice like a thunderous whisper echoed through May's head. She was curious where it came from, but as it did, her Antimon scar seemed to pulsate in unison with the voice.

_Go with them_

Again the voice called out to May. This time, it had a different effect on her. Her fears suddenly subsided and she began to feel an overwhelming urge to follow Team Phantom. It was the best choice and the right thing to do.

May looked once again to see that the bikers were climbing into the truck. They were to be departing soon and her time was running thin. Frantically she pulled her backpack off her back and began rummaging through it. She pulled out all her wardrobe and her makeup kit and went right to work. A few minutes later, she had the perfect biker disguise; a black vest, deep red halter top, black very short shorts and a black bandana.

Donning her disguise, she raced forward and blended perfectly with the last group of bikers to climb into the truck. A Team Phantom hood walked up to the back and pulled the cargo door of the truck down, leaving May in total darkness, surrounded by criminals. With a sudden lurch forward, the truck departed en route to the Turnback Cave.

May sat in the truck, her eyes useless in the darkness. The low light of the truck cargo terrified her. Her very essence screamed at her to break open the door and make a run for it. But she had no idea where the door was or how many bikers stood in her way. It was best for her to swallow her fear and wade out the storm.

_I just want this to be over soon._ May thought to herself.

Half an hour passed and finally light entered the truck, as the cargo door began to open. May was half expecting another Team Phantom Grunt to open the door. Instead a man wearing a business suit and dark sunglasses. May recognized him from Lyra's descriptions as a Team Genetic Agent.

_Why is Team Genetic working with Team Phantom?_ May asked.

The Hoenn born Coordinator looked over the Team Genetic agent as she stepped out of the truck to see that they had arrived at Turnback Cave. The opening to the cave was enormous (large enough for Groudon to easily walk in and out of). It was shaped like jagged, overlapping teeth and a rock formation above the mouth looked like slanted, reptilian eyes staring at them. The land around the cave was barren and lifeless, clearly a sign that Giratina's influence was most powerful here.

The bikers, hoods and agents were all entering the cave. May was reluctant to enter such an inhospitable looking place, but had to keep up her appearance and so followed in line. The light of day disappeared instantly upon entering the cave. The only light in the darkness, came from the torches that hung on the walls. As May continued through the shadows, she looked around the cave. Worn out hieroglyphs surrounded the walls, detailing acts of ritualistic sacrifice and worship of Giratina.

It was clear that this cave used to be the home of a cult that worshipped Giratina. They may have been influenced by the beast to carry out his dark will in the Pokémon world. Why they disappeared was unclear to May, as the hieroglyphs seemed to just stop in the caves. This indicated to the Hoenn born Coordinator that they vanished instantly. Her best guess was that Giratina slew them as they were no longer of use to the Black Renegade.

A red light appeared at the far end of the cave and it began to glow brighter and brighter. This, to May, meant that they were getting close to the end. The cave then expanded into a massive chamber detailed with vast glyphs and statues of Kyurem and Darkrai. At the far end of the chamber, was a life sized statue of Giratina's earth form, with red rubies in the eyes and a five foot altar in front of it. The red glow revealed itself to be the light of a dozen flaming oil lamps. Standing next to the altar, as a woman May would come to know as Empress Neera.

The Team Genetic agents quickly vacated the cave, while the Team Phantom hoods and bikers began to stand around the chamber in a perfect circle. May quickly did as they did and became a part of the ring.

"Fifteen hundred years ago! My ancestor was tasked by Giratina with forging a mighty legion in this very cave! They were the Children of the Dragon, under the lead of my ancestor, endowed by Giratina with great powers and became the first Shadow Priestess! Powers I still yield to this day!" Neera shouted to her servants as she used her psychic powers to increase the blaze of the fires.

"For centuries my family commanded the Children of the Dragon and carried out the will of Giratina!"

Neera's mood turned from commanding, to dark and loathing as she continued her tale.

"That is, until the Guardian Priestess' and Sacred Knights destroyed them all and ravaged this temple. Outraged by this, Giratina vowed revenge against the world of men for this. As she lay on this very ground dying, one of my ancestors convinced the dragon that humanity must be destroyed and so must all Pokémon that serve them. And it was thus, that the fifty years of war began."

May couldn't believe what she heard. All these years they believed that the Platinum Wars were all Giratina's sin. But now she realized that the evil they have hated for nearly two years, was only a pawn. The hatred of a dragon may have kept the Platinum Wars going, but it was human cruelty that started it.

"Now we shall repay Giratina for his service" Neera declared, "Bring me the Griseous Orb!"

Jessie, James and Meowth walked up to the altar carrying a metal case. In unison, they unlocked the three locks on the case and opened it to reveal the Griseous Orb to an astounded gang and a horrified May. The orb began pulsating a red glow was the trio lifted the orb out with metal sticks and cables, and placed it atop the altar. The Team Phantom trio slowly began backing away from the altar and joining the crowd.

"What are they doing here?" May whispered to herself.

"Bring forth the texts of our people!" Neera commanded once more.

Mitsumi approached next, she stepped out from the masses of hoods and bikers and stood between Neera and the altar. In her hands, she carried a single roll of scrolls, which she unravelled in front of her queen. She then kneeled forward and held the opened scrolls over her chest.

Neera then reached into her trench coat pocket and pulled out Cyrus' brown gauntlet that contained the last shards of the Red Chain. She slipped the glove on and held it up to the face of Giratina's statue.

"Dig that" Meowth said, "What's she need the Red Chain for?"

His question was on the mind of himself and his two cohorts. Fortunately, they were close to Mitsumi and she answered them.

"The Red Chain and the Creation trio share something in common" Neera's first lieutenant explained, "They were all made from Arceus' power. DNA tests, show that the chain is similar to the three gods and their orbs of power."

"It was from the essence of Arceus that the Red Chain and Giratina were born, and from the essence within the chain, he shall return." Neera said to herself.

Neera turned her attention to the scrolls and began reciting what was written on them.

_May the oceans run red as blood, may the earth crumble as dust and may the air be toxic as poison. For with this I shall enact thy sin most unforgiving. To give the truly dead life once more._

As Neera continued reading the forbidden spell, she held up her hand that was clothed in the Red Chain. Calling upon her psychic powers, she lifted the Griseous Orb into the air. The ruby eyes in Giratina's statue began glowing red and they fired two beams of red energy at the Griseous Orb. The orb then began to glow red and vibrate.

May could tell what was happening and she had to put a stop to it. Slowly, she took Blaziken's PokéBall on her belt and was ready to Mega Evolve it. But a voice began to echo through her mind telling her not to. She suddenly lost her urge to halt the ritual and put Blaziken's PokéBall back.

_I wish to defy death and pull the soul most damned forward into the realm of the living._

The Red Chain began to take on its true shape and formed a ring around the Griseous Orb which began revolving in a spherical motion. After revolving around the orb thirteen times, the chain turned into a ring of energy and began to morph. May was unsure what it was, but soon realized that it was taking on Giratina's earth form shape.

For many weeks, Team Phantom's medical team was tasked with monitoring a comatose Darkrai. Retrieved from the arctic after a fierce battle with Deoxys. The Pitch Black Pokémon was foolish enough to challenge the DNA Pokémon while in its weakened state and now was paying the price.

Now lying on a hospital bed, hooked up to over a dozen machine all of which kept him alive. His conditions had not changed at all, but that all was about to change.

His heart monitor began spiking and his brain wave activity was spiking just as high. The doctors began to panic, fearing the worse was happening.

"Prepare sedative!" The doctor said to one of his nurses. As the nurse prepared a syringe, a black sphere of energy formed above Darkrai and several smaller ones flew out of them. Each sphere struck one of the humans and Pokémon working in the room and they fell asleep.

Their nightmares were being sent to Darkrai, giving the nightmare master new strength. After convulsing on the bed, his heart rate stabilized and his cold blue eyes snapped open.

Kyurem stalked along the still raining, north coast of the Ransei Region. His defeat at the hands of humans was humiliating and now he had severe wounds that needed to recover. The rain pounding on the wounds inflicted great pain on the dragon, but he endured every inch of it.

The pain Kyurem was about to feel would be unbearable as he began to feel as though his own heart was burning. The dragon reared his head into the sky and began roaring in agony. He had felt this pain only once before. He prayed that this was not what he thought it meant.

He used his Ice Beam and froze over the ground, creating a mirror. As Kyurem looked down, he saw a red marking on his chest, over where his heart was, and recognized it was Giratina's symbol. The mark disappeared, and the pain subsided. But he knew that what this meant, was far worse than anything physical pain he could endure.

"I hoped this day would never come" Kyurem said to himself.

The Giratina shaped energy around the orb began to fade and as it did, something began to form in its place. It was unclear as to what it was, but it was clear that it was a Pokémon. This excited Neera as she began to reach the end of her spell.

_Ascend to us! Ascend to us! Ascend to us oh great and mighty one! live once again Giratina, greatest and mightiest of creatures!_

The energy finally faded and the entity forming around the Griseous Orb had fully materialized. Neera grinned with sickening triumph as she stared up at it. Mitsumi tripped forward and began frantically crawling away from it. The hoods and bikers were taken aback in terror by it. May was simply petrified with fear as she looked up in horror.

"Please" May whispered in dread, "It can't be true."

The Pokémon took two steps forward, before looking around the chamber, realizing that it was alive. The beast flared out its black wings and roared into the air. The roar echoed through the cave and into the outside world. The world enjoyed its months of peace, but those days were over, war had started. Giratina had returned.


	10. Loyalty

"Who among you, had the audacity to trespass on holy ground and defy holy law to awaken me?!" Giratina demanded with a roaring voice.

It was clear that Neera was nervous to be standing in the presence of the beast. She also knew that if she was to maintain command of her legions, then she could not show any signs of fear. Tentatively, she stepped out from the crowd and stood before the dragon with as much courage as she could muster.

"I did Lord Giratina" Neera declared with a bold voice, "I am Empress Neera, sovereign of Team Phantom and last descendant of the Children of the Dragon."

May could barely come to terms with what she just saw. The Pokémon that had causes them so much pain and hardship had returned. It couldn't be true, it could not be that dawn's sacrifice was not in vain. She could not accept that this was what fate had planned for her long time friend.

Giratina swung his gigantic head down towards Neera. So grand was the dragon's size that in order to look the already tall woman at eye level, he had to curl his front legs bellow his gargantuan body and hunch deep forward.

The dragon smelled Neera, her scent was indeed familiar. She bore a similar scent as the Shadow Priestess who told him of humanity's need to die. Though her scent was not exact, it was enough for Giratina to know that they were related by blood.

"You are indeed her descendant" Giratina commented, "Only a Shadow Priestess could hear my voice calling from within the Griseous Orb and use its powers to materialize a new body for me. You have set me free. Though much of my power has been spent from my battle and I cannot summon my legions from the Distortion World. Therefore, your legions will be mine to command until they outlive their usefulness."

"And they will not fail you my king" Neera said as she bowed before Giratina. Team Phantom's leader looked around at her forces which still maintained their stare of awe at Giratina. Even Mitsumi could not pull her gaze away from the colossal beast.

"Do not stand there like simpletons!" Neera roared at her subjects, "Bow to your new master!"

In near perfect unison, Team Phantom and Team Genetic's forces fell to their knees and bowed to the Black Renegade. Giratina glared down at the humans, marvelling in their blind obedience. They would gladly throw themselves into an active volcano if he commanded it. They were the perfect army.

Taking this moment to her advantage, May crept back. Slowly she entered the tunnel which was directly behind her. So far it seemed like neither hood, agent or Pokémon had seen her as she crept into the darkness. Once she could no longer see Giratina, she felt as though she was in the clear. Frantically, May leapt back to her feet and ran down the corridor. The sounds of her rapid footsteps did not surpass the ancient but sharp ears of Giratina. The Black Renegade simply grinned as he listened to May escape.

May raced through the tunnels, desperate to return to her friends and warn them of their enemy's return. She ran into the darkness, unaware of where she was going and uncaring, as long as she was free from Giratina. Just being in the dark Pokémon's presence made May feel cold and lonely. At the same time, something inside her began to feel more attached to Giratina, as if she had a secret longing to become closer to him. She did not want to have this feeling and it drove her to flee into the darkness.

The only thing that stopped her from running any further were the four Hydreigons in front of her, primed for attack. To her there was only one reason four solitary predators from the Unova Region were here, they belonged to Team Phantom.

"Go Blaziken!" May sent out her most powerful Pokémon and wasted no time Mega Evolving it.

"Now use Mega Kick!" May commanded. Blaziken did as its Trainer commanded. At unparalleled speed, the flaming bird Pokémon swung its feet into the Dark type dragons four times and rendered them unconscious.

"Let's get out of here" May instructed her Pokémon as the two began running out of the caves. May did not waste any time in calling Blaziken back as there was a strong chance of more enemies hiding in the shadows.

May and Blaziken escaped the caves not facing any new enemies along the way. The Hoenn born Coordinator looked around the outside of the Turnback Cave, she spotted wide tire tracks leading away.

"Those must be the tracks from the truck" May theorized, "We can follow those and head back to Sand-"

May was interrupted when something lunged out of nowhere and attacked her Blaziken, sending her tumbling to the ground. As May got back to her feet, she could see who attacked them an old enemy, also presumed dead.

"Darkrai" May said to herself, "You won't get the better of us this time, we've been getting stronger."

May stood proudly and swung her hand out towards Blaziken ready to command her first ever Pokémon.

"Okay Blaziken! Use Mega-"

Once again something interrupted May. This time it was something wrapping around her waist and throat and squeezing with tremendous force. This force began increasing, forcing air out of May's lungs. The pressure applied to her neck inhibited her ability to speak, leaving her helpless. May looked towards Blaziken with eyes of fear, filled with tears from terror and a side effect from a severe lack of oxygen.

Blaziken wasted no time in rushing in to save its Trainer's life. The Fire type did not want to use a ranged Fire move and risk harming May. As such it prepared to use Blaze Kick, setting its left leg on fire and preparing to swing towards the back of May.

Suddenly Darkrai got between Blaziken and its quarry. In the dark one's hand was a sphere of black and purple energy. May tried to call out to her Pokémon to warn it, but the moment her invisible attacker sensed movement in her neck, it tightened. The only sound that escaped May's mouth was a small wince of pain.

Darkrai swung the sphere of energy at Blaziken and in struck its chest. The Fire Pokémon was then overwhelmed by a sudden and growing exhaustion and fell to the ground asleep. But it was far from a peaceful sleep, Blaziken tossed and turned in its sleep, ravaged by horrific nightmares.

May grabbed at the invisible object strangling her to death in a desperate attempt to pull her attacker away. This lead to no effect, it only strengthened her enemy's resolve and it tightened even further. Her vision began to blur, her ears were ringing and her feet began to go numb.

_This isn't good_ May though to herself, _In a few seconds I'll lose consciousness and Dawn won't know about Giratina until it's too late._

So many tears began to fill May's bloodshot eyes that everything became a blur to her. This was it to her, after all the adventures and enemies she faced, she would finally meet her death at the hands of an enemy whose identity was a secret to her. Summoning her last inches of strength, May looked up at the now setting sky. This would be the last time she would ever look up at the sky, so she took in every moment she could.

_Arceus, please protect Dawn_ May prayed in her mind, before she finally lost consciousness.

Had May the strength to stay conscious for a few more seconds, she would have seen a government issued vehicle drive up by the mouth of the cave and Agent Johnson step out.

"That's quite enough Deoxys" Johnson subtly commanded, "She's no good to us dead."

Deoxys shifted its external coloring and became visible once more. It was indeed Deoxys, hovering ten feet in the air in Normal Form, two tentacles wrapped around May's waist and two around her neck. The alien Pokémon loosened its hold on her slightly and lowered down towards Johnson. Team Genetic's corrupt agent checked the girl and was satisfied to see she was still alive.

"You could not stop Deoxys when it was getting carried away?" Johnson sarcastically asked Darkrai.

"The child made a mockery of me before the armies of dark Aura and my master" Darkrai answered coldly, "I would more prefer she died slowly and the Priestess act out of revenge."

"If she is alive however, then the Priestess will act faster and the plan can get along smoother." Johnson explained as he took his cell phone out and dialed the first number on the speed dial.

"Director Hayden, we have the hostage" Johnson explained, "What is the next step?"

"Take her back to base" Hayden instructed, "We can add her to our collection of captives, I will let Neera know immediately as soon as I obtain the Celestial Stone of Saturn."


	11. Hayden vs Ash

"Misty come on, I said I'm sorry. What more do you want from me?" Ash pleaded as he walked quickly behind her through the streets of Coral Town. This was the twelfth hundredth time Ash had said this in the last ten minutes. His throat had become dry and it hurt to speak.

Misty was deliberately walking fast her head held high and her eyes closed. She was playing stubborn for the boy and to see how far he would be willing to go to get her trust back. He betrayed her and this was his punishment. She did not enjoy being angry with Ash, but she did enjoy seeing him grovel at her feet.

"You're being immature, even for you." Ash said, clearly getting irritated.

"Sticks and stones, Ash" Misty snobbishly responded.

"You're starting to sound like Jessie" Ash commented, making it sound like he was talking to himself, but intentionally being loud enough for Misty to hear.

Misty spun around with eyes, glowing with flaming rage like a Fire Drake from Middle Earth. Ash expected her to grab him by his shirt and throttle him until he took it back. But he went too far by comparing his girlfriend to the woman she hated most of all. With a strong swing of her pelvis, Misty swung her leg forward at great speed. Her foot struck Ash in the centre of his gut with such force that it sent him flying down the small coastal town's streets. Pikachu looked on with fear before running after its Trainer. If it could talk it would say, "I'm coming Ash!"

Misty could not believe that she hit Ash that hard. As she held her thigh in pain (as she had still not fully recovered) she immediately regretted what she did. She let her anger take her too far and now she had to be the sorry one instead of him. As she ran down the street to help Ash (partially limping)she decided that the two of them were equal and she would forgive him.

Pikachu pulled on Ash's ears until he came too. Ash dizzily looked around at the blurry world around him. the only thing he could make out was the expensive hub cap attached to the tire that was only a few feet from his face. The young Trainer looked up and saw that before him was a very expensive Rolls Royce kind of automobile.

A young boy (younger than Ash) in a black suit and glasses, stepped out of the vehicle and looked down at Ash. He had a cold but arrogant look on his face as he stared into Ash's eyes.

"Ash Ketchum I presume?" The boy asked.

"Yeah, who are you?" Ash asked as he got back to his feet. Pikachu climbed up Ash's back and onto his shoulder as he stood up.

"My name is Hayden, I'm the Director of Team Genetic" Hayden responded somewhat proudly with a small smile on his face.

Hayden expected Ash to become intimidated the moment he heard that he was the leader of Team Genetic, as so many others did in the past. Instead he looked at him with a very peculiar expression. He had of course heard of Team Genetic, but he never once would have assumed that this would be their commander.

"Aren't you a little young to be a leader?" Ash asked unexpectedly setting off an unexpected bomb of rage.

"HOW DARE YOU REFER TO ME AS A DIAPER WEARING KINDERGARTENER!" Hayden shouted as he jumped into the air flaying his arms and legs around.

"He didn't say anything like that" Misty commented in an embarrassed tone as she appeared out of nowhere. Ash jumped a mile when he saw her suddenly appear. He decided not to question how she materialized as they were running out of space in this chapter and they had to continue the story.

"No matter" Hayden said as he resumed his cool, "You two have items that the government sees as a threat to national security."

Ash, Pikachu and Misty looked at each other nervously. He could not have been talking about the Celestial Stones. They were supposed to be the only ones who knew about the stones. Besides they were Dawn's only hope to regain her voice.

"What are you talking about?" Misty asked feigning ignorance.

"You know what I speak of" Hayden confronted, "The Celestial Stones of Saturn and Mercury."

The two Trainers looked at each other, terrified. It was one thing for Team Genetic to know about the Celestial Stones. But how did he know that they had two of the stones. Their best hope was to continue feigning ignorance.

"We have no idea what you're talking about" Ash persisted.

"Don't bother denying it." Hayden responded fiercely, "We know you two confronted the spirits that guarded them and retrieved them."

Misty knew that there was no point in hiding this secret anymore. Not waiting for Ash to make a move (and not one to let herself be upstaged by anyone) she stepped forward, firm and strong. Her iron resolve was clear to Hayden.

"So what if we do?" Misty asked confrontationally, "We need them to save a friend and we're not giving them up to anyone."

"So be it" Hayden calmly replied as he took a PokéBall off his belt and sent out an Aggron.

The Aggron was wearing a black choker with a Mega Stone at the centre of it. Hayden tapped the Key Stone on his left cufflink and Aggron Mega Evolved. This would not deter Ash, Misty or Pikachu. They faced Giratina and destroyed him, one Mega Evolved Pokémon was not going to stand in their way.

"Okay then" Ash started, "Go Charizard!"

"Go Gyarados!" Misty shouted.

"Iron Tail" Hayden commanded calmly. Aggron's tail formed a silver shell around its thick tail and swung it towards Charizard.

"Counter with Dragon Tail!" Ash instructed.

A blue glow radiated through Charizard's tail as it swung it towards Aggron's tail. The two powerful Pokémon parried one another like swords until Agron saw an opening and struck Charizard. The Fire Type was sent tumbling behind its Trainer.

"Charizard!" As shouted in terror, Moments later, Charizard staggered back to its feet.

"Gyarados! Use Flamethrower!" Misty commanded.

The water serpent reared back, taking a deep breath. It then threw its head forward releasing a stream of fire from its mouth. The flames struck the Aggron, forcing it to its knees. Even with its enhanced defense stats thanks to its Mega Evolution, it could not fight the pain from its burns.

"Now Pikachu use Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded. Taking advantage of the Aggron's weakened state, Pikachu lunged into the air and used his trademark electric attack. The bolt struck the Steel type Pokémon, forcing it further to the ground.

"Okay Gyarados! Use Hydro Pump!" Misty ordered. Gyarados released a spinning stream of concentrated water from its mouth. Aggron was ready for this one, as was its Trainer.

"Metal Burst" Hayden commanded.

Aggron began to shine like steel as the Hydro Pump hurtled towards it. The Pokémon opened its mouth and absorbed the attack into a glowing sphere of energy at the centre of it. Aggron then threw the attack towards Gyarados and struck the Atrocious Pokémon in its face.

"Shake it off Gyarados and use Hyper Beam!" Misty instructed. Before Gyarados could recover, Hayden acted again. Taking another PokéBall off his belt, he sent out his Metagross.

"Magnet Rise and Zen Headbutt" Hayden ordered.

The Psychic Steel type formed a yellow aura around itself as it lifted itself into the air. The silver X on its face began to glow as it lunged forward and struck Gyarados in the chest. The water serpent fell to the ground, unable to get back up. While in mid-air, the Metagross turned around and was targeting Charizard.

"Charizard behind you!" Ash shouted, "Use Slash!"

Charizard turned around to face its attacker, but before the dragon could attack Metagross attacked it. The Steel type slammed into Charizard and sent him tumbling to the ground.

Both Ash and Misty raced to their injured Pokémon's sides. Hayden's Pokémon prepared to attack the Trainers themselves, as they had done many times in the past, but their master kept them at bay.

"Now you know the power of Team Genetic" Hayden sneered, "We are not a force to be reckoned with and there is no law we need fear, we are the law. So I'm going to tell you one last time, give me the Celestial Stones."

Misty prepared to stand up and look the director of Team Genetic in the eye. Before he could rise to her feet, Ash was already taking a firm stance against their nemesis.

"I don't care if you are the law." Ash said, with a voice silent but full of rage, "I'm ready to do whatever it takes to give my friends everything they lost, even if it defies the law."

Hayden said nothing. He simply closed his eyes and adjusted his glasses before looking back at his defeated enemies.

"So you admitted to willingly breaking the law" Hayden commented, "Then consider your sentence carried out."

With a wave of Hayden's hand, Aggron and Metagross stormed next to him. They glared down at their enemies and prepared their most powerful ranged attacks to end their enemies. Misty slowly walked up to Ash and took his hand in a show she forgave him. Ash was grateful but knew there had to have been a better time for this.

Moments before they unleashed their attacks, the two Pokémon were attacked by a Rock Throw and Hydro Cannon attack each. The force of the attacks sent both Pokémon falling forward. Hayden, in shock and anger, looked behind himself to see a Blastoise and Golem standing in front of the Royce.

Gary and Max stepped out from behind the vehicle. They sent out more of their Pokémon, until Hayden was drastically outnumbered. All the Trainers' Pokémon sneered at the leader of Team Genetic, even little Shuppet and Umbreon looked vicious.

"If you challenge one of us" Gary started.

"You challenge all of us." Max finished.

Hayden assessed the situation, carefully analyzing every Pokémon to find their weakness. From that he began determining how the battle would play out. If he predicted that he would lose the battle, he would change one of his actions to see what would happen. He checked every possible outcome and they all met with his defeat. He would lose due to the sheer volume of his enemy, even if he used all six of his Pokémon.

"Very well then" Team Genetic's leader said as he called his Pokémon back.

Calmly he walked towards Gary and Max, showing no sign of confrontation. Their Pokémon were on the alert, ready to spring into action the moment Hayden tried anything. The boy simply walked past the two Trainers and entered the still open backseat of his expensive car and closed the door.

Ash, Misty, Gary and Max began to approach the car, drawn towards it by some unknown subliminal force. Perhaps it was the instinct to keep their friends close and their enemies closer. Or was it their desire to find a motive for their foe. Whatever the reason, they were soon a few feet away from the closed window of the vehicle. Hayden lowered the window and glanced at his enemies.

"Consider yourselves of interest to Team Genetic" Hayden warned "Of great interest."

The boy then raised the window and the vehicle drove away, leaving the four Trainers puzzled. Ash then turned his attention towards his rescuers.

"What are you guys doing here?" He asked, "I thought you were heading to Sandgem Town to meet with May."

"I got there yesterday, but May wasn't there." Max explained, "I asked Professor Rowan if she visited the lab, but he said she didn't. So I headed back to meet with you guys."

"I was on my way back to Sandgem Town when Brock called me and said he was attacked by a Team Phantom assassin." Gary explained, "I tried to contact Red and Dawn to warn them, but I got no response."

"First Giratina, the Team Phantom and now Team Genetic." Misty commented, "How many evil forces are we going to have to face?"

"I don't know" Ash commented, "But I think Team Phantom and Team Genetic surfacing after Giratina died can't be a coincidence."


End file.
